The Ministry of Education has announced that the Edexcel International A’Level examination slated for May and June, has been pushed back to October and November following the rapidly changing situation of the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) across the globe.

This decision is followed by the government’s decision to close down schools, universities and educational institutes across the entire nation for a long period of time, as a precaution against the Covid-19 outbreak which emerged in Maldives on 7 March.

This comes at a time the government of the United Kingdom has announced that the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and A’Level examinations have been cancelled across the entire globe as nations shutter their schools.

This was announced by the British body that oversees A’Levels and GCSEs in over 10,000 schools globally, on Monday so as to prevent the spread of the fatal virus any further.

The examinations delay is not expected to affect Maldivian students a great deal, as O’Levels are held during October and November in the country.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) ordered all educational institutions to be shut down for a period of 14 days, on 14 March. This comes shortly after the state of public health emergency was declared across the entire nation for a 30-day period on 12 March.

The government's Covid-19 spokesperson, Mabrook Aziz earlier stated that the mid-term holiday extension might change according to the country's public health situation.